Thomas Rhett, Life ChangesPop-country hit machine Thomas Rhett Akins Jr. owes plenty to his dad, Nineties pop-country heartthrob turned 21st-century hit-writer Rhett Akins, who has a winning cameo here on “Drink a Little Beer.” But the prodigal son is his own man on his third LP, name-checking Coldplay and Steve Earle’s “Copperhead Road” when he’s not whispering come-ons over club beats (“Leave Right Now”), delivering curveball R&B-tinged heartbreak (“Marry Me”) and smartly co-branding with Maren Morris on “Craving You” – two likable, similarly minded newbies swinging for the fences in a post-Taylor Swift country world. Will HermesHear:Amazon Music Unlimited | Apple Music | SoundCloud Go | Spotify | Tidal

Tori Amos, Native Invader“In these times of deep-rooted national trauma, then, a new album from [Tori Amos] might be exactly what we need,” writes Simon Vozick-Levinson of the singer and composer’s 15th album, which “confronts the harsh vibes of the Trump era” on “one of the most purposeful full-length statements in her quarter-century career.”Hear:Amazon Music Unlimited | Apple Music | SoundCloud Go | Spotify | Tidal

Sparks, HippopotamusForty-five years into their career, the Mael brothers – Ron on keyboards and programming, Russell on vocals – remain as delightfully oddball as ever, with songs like the hip-shaking “Edith Piaf Said It Better Than Me” and the sweeping “What the Hell Is It This Time?” combining finicky production with surrealistic lyrics and playfully grand choruses. Hear:Amazon Music Unlimited | Apple Music | SoundCloud Go | Spotify | Tidal

Zola Jesus, OkoviThe fifth album by composer and performer Zola Jesus is a brutally up-close look at grief and sadness, its heavy emotions given even more intensity by her stunning, strong voice (she was trained as an opera singer before diving into the post-punk waters) and wall-to-wall instrumentation that includes harsh electronics and overwhelming strings. “Siphon,” written as a plea to a friend who attempted suicide, blooms into a hymn, with the singer intoning over and over, “won’t let you bleed out, can’t let you bleed out” in a voice that knots hope and despair; “Exhumed” pairs her legato vocalizations with hyperspeed beats in a way that resembles a too-fast heartbeat. Maura JohnstonHear:Amazon Music Unlimited | Apple Music | Bandcamp | SoundCloud Go | Spotify | Tidal